Recent Comments by dusted

Men's Luger Killed in Training Crash at Winter Olympics Track

grum: The problem with "blaming" the course design is that a person won't normally be able to pop out of the course at that point. It was a fluke.

But this course wasn't normal, was it? The designers, safety officials and various international bodies deserve all the blame for designing a course to be the fastest ever, placing steel girders right next to the track, then ignoring safety concerns.

"The International Luge Federation [FIL] is where Formula One was 40 years ago the whole mindset is wrong," he said.

Echoing his views, Sir Jackie Stewart, the three-time Formula One world champion, said that the sport of luge had been lucky not to have lost more athletes, given the lack of attention to basic safety precautions. "I think the sport has, fortunately, got off for years without too many fatalities or very serious injuries," Stewart said.

The Scot, who has been a tireless campaigner for improvements in safety in motor sport, said that he was very surprised that the track designers in Canada had clearly not considered the possibility of a luger leaving the track, out of control. "It was clear to me that whoever designed the track hadn't seen the potential of either an athlete or a sled getting out of the race track, because at 90mph the dynamics of it are incredible, never mind the human factor," Stewart said. "Clearly it was almost impossible for the luger to miss hitting one of the metal girders on the edge of the racing line because of the angle at which he came off."

Stewart was amazed to see that alongside the Whistler track were unprotected girders on to which the Georgian luger was flung, causing fatal head injuries.

"Had it been motor sport, there would have been a debris fence [chain-link fencing], to stop a sled or a rider from coming into contact with those sort of structures," he said. "If that was in place the luger would have suffered serious injuries because of the speed of the impact, but the elasticity in the fencing would have enabled him to survive."

Men's Luger Killed in Training Crash at Winter Olympics Track

Men's Luger Killed in Training Crash at Winter Olympics Track

Ah yes, grum, because the most important thing right now is national pride and reputation, yes? What did you expect - that an accident like this is going to end in accolades? People screwed up, badly, and there will be a lot of hell to pay for that.

Over on Metafilter comes word that the course designers called the corner "50/50," meaning only half the competitors would make the corner.

Christopher Hitchens: Sports Bring Out the Worst in Humanity

Oh man, now I LOVE the Polish pole vaulter photo. From Wikipedia:

In Poland, the Bras d'honneur became known as the "Kozakiewicz's gesture" (gest Kozakiewicza). Kozakiewicz made the gesture on July 30, 1980 to Russian spectators in the stadium during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The crowd supporting Soviet jumper Konstantin Volkov booed, hissed, jeered, and whistled during Kozakiewicz's spectacular performance. Having just secured his gold medal position, Kozakiewicz made the gesture in defiance to the Soviet crowd. He later confirmed his dominance over the competition by breaking the world record, clearing at 5.78 meters.

The photos of this incident circled the globe, with the exception of the Soviet Union and its satellites. While international observers varied in their reaction to the incident, Kozakiewicz's act received much support in Polish society, which resented Soviet control over Eastern Europe. After the 1980 Olympics ended, the Soviet ambassador to Poland demanded that Kozakiewicz be stripped of his medal over his "insult to the Soviet people". The official response of the Polish government was that the gesture had been an involuntary muscle spasm caused by his exertion.

Christopher Hitchens: Sports Bring Out the Worst in Humanity

The article is an instant classic on the basis of that lead photo alone:

It's also hard to dislike this shot, particularly after reading the caption:

At the 1980 summer Games, Polish pole vaulter Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz made a rude gesture to the Moscow crowd after setting a new world record. The image shot around the world and to many, signified Polish resentment of Russia's control over Eastern Europe.

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

Allen Iverson Leaves Grizzlies

I've never understood the hatred of Iverson. None of us really know any of them, but he seems far more sincere and genuine than your average Kobe / LeBron type. He doesn't have that Disney Channel polish, but that just makes him interesting. He works hard, takes lots of punishment, plays injured, and is a phenomenal talent. He should be a starting point guard in the NBA.

Redesigning the Worst NFL Helmet Graphics

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

Ben Spies won the World Superbike title last week in Portimao, Portugal, winning it in his rookie season. Next year he races in MotoGP, the top-level series, and last weekend he had a one-off wild-card ride in the MotoGP season ending race in Valencia, Spain. He finished seventh after only three hours on the new motorcycle.

All-Out Brawl Breaks Out at IHL Game

CNBC Reporter: Marathon Champ Isn't Real American

I watched the whole race live on universalsports.com - I'm kind of a running dork. It was pretty amazing how there was a pack of 10-12 one minute and then just 4-5 the next. A few surges later it was just Meb and Cheruiyot. I didn't understand why Meb was sobbing after the race until I read a bit more about what had happened...

Meb's training partner Ryan Shay died in Central Park in the Olympic Trials in 2007, right near the finish line to Sunday's race. Meb had a hip stress fracture after that race that had him crawling around, unable to walk. He fought back from career-threatening injuries to just get to the starting line. He'd never won a marathon ever before.

Which is just a long way of saying "thank God these ignorant pricks said something." Now we can learn more about Meb and appreciate him even more.

Agassi: My Mullet Almost Fell Off at 1990 French Open

Antoine Walker broke, arrested for writing bad checks

I was telling my wife about this, and she said "I couldn't spend that money in a lifetime." It is pretty amazing to think that Walker kept expanding his lifestyle / entourage / gambling habit that he could burn through all his (and others) money so soon after his career ended.

Is there a financial education course for NBA players? I remember we discussed one of the big leagues starting a money course for rookies (your uncle shouldn't be your agent, don't sign blank checks, etc.).

Three Runners Die During Detroit Marathon

Many runners (not saying you, Shotput) have terrible technique, landing on their heels, sending big shocks up through their joints. Combine that with poor and inconsistent training habits, poor rehabilitation of minor injuries and high body weight and I'm not surprised that so many people think "it will ruin your knees."

Look up Chi Running, The Pose, and forefoot/midfoot striking. Try training on dirt, grass, gravel roads instead of sidewalks and pavement, consistently running for a year at a mix of speeds and intensities, and buying new shoes at least every six months. There is nothing better for building up strong bones, tendons and muscles in your legs and feet.

Three Runners Die During Detroit Marathon

Sounds like all of them were heart attacks. Runner's World did a magazine feature along the lines of "are marathons safe?" a few months ago. Their conclusion: if you want to live to the end of the day: don't run. If you want to live a long, healthy life: run.

In other words, there is more immediate danger while running compared to sitting on your couch, but over time and statistics, runners live longer and with less disease.

Marathon Champ Disqualified for Using iPod

The Kenyan, a University of Louisville graduate, was in the mass of runners that began five minutes after the elites in Chicago in 2008, but he stunned - and confused - folks by recording the fourth fastest time overall. He's proven his elite status now; he went on to win the Los Angeles Marathon in May in a course record 2:08:24, and also won The Challenge, the battle-of-the-sexes contest within the race. That alone was worth $100,000. Korir is hoping to build an orphanage in his Kitale, Kenya, hometown. "I was born into a very poor family. My passion is to help poor children. "God is giving me an opportunity to make a difference," Korir affirms.

Marathon Champ Disqualified for Using iPod

yerfatma, I actually had that experience a couple of months ago in a 10K. I was in second place and I could see the leader about 300 yards ahead with about 1.5 miles to go. They had a highway patrol car stopping traffic where the course crosses Hwy. 1.

The leader ran across with traffic stopped, but the cop re-started the traffic as I approached the intersection. I was screaming "Hey hey hey!" and he just ignored me. I was seeing red mist already, and that just infuriated me further, so I just kept running, filtering through traffic with the cop screaming "STOP STOP, STOP HIM" to his partner across the road. As I blew past, his partner gave me a kind of "sorry about that" shrug and shook his head.

So meanwhile, I'm chasing the guy uphill, thinking "great, now I'm disqualified AND arrested - good work Dusty." To make it worse, even with all that adrenalin I still couldn't catch the guy in front. So I ran across the finish, took off my singlet, removed my bright yellow shoes and mixed in with the crowd. Never saw anyone looking for me, and still got a medal, so I guess they either forgave me or decided I wasn't worth the hassle.

Marathon Champ Disqualified for Using iPod

Book: Cryogenics Workers Batted Around Ted Williams' Head

I think "one day be resuscitated through some form of future-science technological miracle only to end up stuck to a can of tuna fish and getting smacked around with a wrench" is going to be my motto for the day.